Pleated skirt



July 28, 1953 A M. B. 'i'ERRY 2,646,571

PLEATED rSKIRT l FiledfApril 18, 195o T-f-ll5 f7 5 (2 Z0 zd G za l j lig N1- ovm e @I s b @I l @i @a e: Q 2l Q l pl; (zz l l- )Z5 Z5 s @i e @s Z@ Z@ Z6 Q i ,l @g Q l @i ll INVENTOR MILDRED B. TERRY BY Patented July 28, 1953 PLEATED SKIRT Y Mildred B. Terry, New York, N. Y., assignor to Clikpleet, Inc., New York,

of New York v N. Y., a corporation Application April 18, 1950, Serial No. 156,596

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a garment construction and more specifically to a convenient skirt construction.

For many purposes, particularly when the wearer is to travel, it is highly desirable for garments to be capable of being neatly packed away and easily laundered or cleaned and `prepared for additional wear without ironing. With the advent of quick-drying synthetic materials and the development of crease resistant fabrics generally, the desirability and feasibility of providing garments which can be easily laundered or cleaned and worn without ironing becomes greater and accordingly, it is a fundamental object of the instant invention to provide a skirt construction which will permit the wearer to assemble it readily and to dissemble it and pack it neatly for use during travel.

It is another object of the invention to provide a skirtconstruction which is developed into a single substantially rectangular piece of material.

It is a further object of theinvention to provide a skirt construction which is readily packed or folded into a simple geometric package, thereby minimizing creasing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a skirt construction which permits laundering or drycleaning of the garment so that it can be reused without ironing.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and Will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises a skirt or skirt portion of a dress which is developed into a planar, quadrilateral or substantially rectangular section of material, one dimension of which determines the length of the skirt and the other the circumference of the waistband, the construction being characterized by the placement of fastening devices along one dimension to permit gathering of the material about the waist in a series of pleats to bring together the edges determining the length of the skirt, which edges are also provided with fastening means for closing the garment. The invention accordingly is embodied in a skirt construction having the features of construction, combinations of elements Aand arrangement of parts hereinafter to be dey scribed in detail.

In the drawing accompanying the instant specicationl l Figure 1 is the outline of a model wearing a skirt made according to the instant invention;

Figure 2 is a `diagram showing the skirt developed Ainto the single piece of materialk from which it is made;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view of a Vportion of the upper edge of the material with thepleats or indicia for forming pleats developed at their proper intervals and with the fastening devices about to be brought together in properalignment; Y v.

Figure 4 is a showing of a portion of the skirt shown in Figure 3 including the final fastening of the two edges thereof;

Figure 5 isa section .taken alongthe line 5-5 in Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a section taken along the line 6-6 in Figure 2.

Referring now to Figure 1, it will be seen that l0 represents the model wearing the skirt Il made in accordance'with the instant invention. It is apparent that the skirt when worn is characterized by having a number of pleats, which, in one embodiment, may be tailored.

In Figure l2 the garment is shown developed y into a single rectangular piece 20 characterized by the presence of a series of fasteners 2| along one short edge and the mating portions of those fasteners 22 along its other short edge. A second series of fasteners 23 is attached to thegarment at intervals along one face of the waistband edge. This latter edge also carries an additional series of fasteners 24 on the opposite face thereof.

For convenience in assembling, a preferred embodiment of the skirt calls for the placement of guiding seams 25, oriented toward one face of the fabric, and related to the fasteners along the same face of the waistband on one side as shown in the figure, and a second series of guiding seams 26, oriented to the other face of the fabric, similarly related to the fasteners on the, other face of the waistband. At the termination of the series of fasteners on the waistband a final terminal fastener or hook 21 is provided and at. the corresponding point at the other end of the waistband is an eye 28.

To illustrate the assembly of the skirt to a wearable lform, Figure 3 has been developed to show how the orientation of the series of fasteners about the waistband is utilized in combination with the seams, or indicia on the waistband, marking the pleats to assemble it into' size and formV for use. Thus, it will be seen that the male and female portions of fasteners 23 are aligned so that they are snapped together neatly, at least one portion of the snap being oriented close to the actual point for making a fold or pleat in the skirt. Similarly, the male and female portions of snap fasteners 2,4 on the other side of the waistband are oriented, one portion close to the same in the pleat and the other correspondingly located.

Thus, the series of snaps in this embodiment calls for placing one part thereof at one fold of a pleat, letting it serve as the index or marker for the location of that pleat, and the other part thereof where the width of the desired pleat calls for it.' On Vthe opposite vface of the fabric a corresponding arrangement of male and female portions of snaps is developed.

It will be understood, of course, that the pieces of the snap fasteners can .be oriented oppositely, that is, the male and female portions of any pair of snap fasteners can be interchanged without material effect on the operativeness of the device.

The final closure for the skirt is made, of course, with a snap fastener' 24 which has Vits parts" at opposite ends of the material forming the waistband, thus putting into alignment for assembly the hook 21 and the eye 28. When the skirt is closed the hook and eye keep the final joint properly oriented and the closurealong the length of the skirt can be accomplished with the fasteners'2l, 22. Minor adjustments in the size of the waistband may be made through placement of the hook and eye 21--28 and the last snapof the series.

It is to be understood, of course, that the fastening of the skirt along the edges defining the length thereof could be accomplished with the commonly used zipper.

In Figure 4, an enlarged view of the final closure of the skirt is shown developed in style similar to that used in Figure 3 but the several snap fasteners. and the hook and eye are shown in closed position-in order to illustrate the final form of the device.

To clarify further the actual structure of the device, Figure 5' is employed to give a sectional View of the skirt construction taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 2. It will be seen that the material has a fold 50 in the end thereof which forms the final edge of the skirt, on opposite sidesof which` appear the portions of the snap fastener 2l. spaced from the terminal seam there is shown seam which may be a full length seam, orf-tuck-in the material, as illustrated in Figure 2 or may be merely a tuck taken for a short width in the waistband to form an index identifying the point at which the tuck should be taken to' orient the portions of the skirt properly for assembly. Located close to the tuck in this embodiment -ofthe invention is the hook 2l. Similaianalysis of the remainder of the section will identify the male portions of the snap fasteners 23 and 24and their relationship to the correspondingly located female portions of the snap fasteners 23 and 24.

It will be seen that on any one face of the material a male and female portion of a snap fastener will appear between two similarly oriented tucks or seams. That is, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, the seams 25l are oriented towardone face of the' material-and the alternate seams 26 are oriented toward the other face'. Although this construction is preferred, it is not completely essential and, as indicated, rather' than putting seams at these locations simple tucks'could be taken inthe material or,.alternativelyfindicia in the form of markers could be placed-at these points to indicate the proper orientationof the skirt.Y For this purpose theA fasteners themselves will do. In view of the fact that simplicity in construction is highly desirable and the ultimate advantage it is desired to achieve is that the skirt may be packed flat, the embodiment using only simple indicia in combination with the fasteners in the waistband is, in many instances, preferable.

In Figure 6 a development of a section along the line 6-6 of Figure 2'is shown and the analysis of the parts thereof is made similar to the analysis made in conjunction with Figure 5.

It will be understood that the construction of the invention calls simply for the rectangular piece of material in combination with appropriately placed and spaced fasteners along the one edge to permit the taking of tucks therein in the assembly 'of a waistband and an appropriate fastener alongV the two other edges of the rectangular pieces of material which determine the length thereof and thereby the pleated skirt construction is maintained. Additional ornamentation to suit the pleasure of a wearer, such as Wearing the skirt in combination with a belt for which loops may be provided if desired is, of course, determined by the whim of the wearer.

Having described the invention and a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to 'be understood that variations of the invention in the particular combinations of fasteners with seams or indicia for applying the folds in assembling the waistband may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the particular embodiments described herewith 'are intended to be illustrative only.

What is claimed is:

l. A skirt comprising a planar rectangular section of material, fastening means along two opposite. edges thereof to provide a vertical joint corresponding substantially to the length of the skirt to close it around the wearer, fastening means formed of first and second complementary parts along a third edge' thereof on both faces of the material, said means being spaced with cooperating members staggered so that alternately oriented creases are defined to form alternate vertical folded areas'of unequal Width when said rstrand second complementary parts are brought together to hold the edge in pleated relation, first like parte of said fastening members being attached to the mid-portion of wider folded areas on opposite surfaces and second cooperating parts of the fastening members being attached close to the folded edge of the narrower folded areas on opposite surfaces, so that by bringing the rst and second complementary parts of the fastening members together, the wider folded areas will over-lie the narrower to provide full pleating in the skirt.

2. A skirt in accordance with claim 1 having indicia to mark edges of vertical folds for gathering said material into a pleated skirt, said indicia comprising seams parallel to said joint.

MLDRED B. TERRY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

